contact:
Dena Butler, Raymond James Financial, Team Leader for the Tampa Bay Community Build Day Committee:
727-567-1088; dena.butler@raymondjames.com
or
Keosha Burns: Communications Manager, The Financial Services Roundtable: 202-589-2427; Keosha@fsround.org

Please visit the Raymond James Press Center at raymondjames.com/media.

St. Petersburg, Fla. –The Financial Services Roundtable hosted its sixth annual Community Build on August 4 where more than 160 corporate and community volunteers joined Everyone’s Youth United and the Childs Park Junior Rattlers to “Spruce Up” the Childs Park neighborhood.

Volunteers painted the Childs Park Junior Rattlers Sports Complex concession stand and completed minor interior and exterior repairs and landscaping for both the sports complex and Everyone’s Youth United’s facility. Workers also installed neighborhood signs and landscaping for the Childs Park Neighborhood gateway area. They’ll return next Saturday to finish the renovation which was organized by St. Petersburg Neighborhood Housing Services, the city of St. Petersburg, and Childs Park Weed and Seed Steering Committee.

Each of the following Tampa Bay-area Financial Services Roundtable member firms contributed $5,000 and volunteer services: AEGON USA Inc., BB&T, Raymond James Financial, State Farm, SunTrust, and Wachovia.

“These renovations will be proudly acknowledged by our kids and give them – and the rest of Childs Park – a sense of pride,” said Everyone’s Youth United Founder and President Eric Green. “This gets people excited and geared up to make personal commitments to make it even better!”

“Improving the quality of life in Childs Park is a major initiative underway in St. Petersburg,” said Mayor Rick Baker. “I'd like to thank the Financial Services Roundtable for its significant contribution in terms of both resources and personnel to work together for the future of Childs Park. I'd also like to acknowledge the work of city staff, St. Petersburg Weed and Seed, Neighborhood Housing Services, the Childs Park Neighborhood Association, residents and all of the volunteers. We are very fortunate to have been selected as one of the sites for this year’s Community Build Day, and we look forward to more great things happening in the Childs Park neighborhood.”
For Askia Muhammad Aquil, president and CEO of St. Petersburg’s Neighborhood Housing Services, transforming the Childs Park neighborhood complements the organization’s vision of creating neighborhoods of choice for working families.

“On behalf of the St. Pete NHS’ board, staff and supporters, and as a 20-year resident of this neighborhood, I am honored and delighted to be involved with the Tampa Bay members of the Financial Services Roundtable and all of the partners who are lifting this neighborhood a bit higher through their participation in the 2007 Community Build Day ‘Spruce Up Childs Park’ renovation projects,” Aquil stated.
Steve Bartlett, President and CEO of The Financial Services Roundtable commented, “Community Build Day is a snapshot of what our companies accomplish 365 days a year to build our communities.. Roundtable Member companies are competitors in the marketplace, but this day shows our cooperation in the community.”

This is the sixth anniversary of Community Build Day. Nationally, 76 Roundtable member companies have committed to a community project or home build in more than 230 cities.
Updates of the Community Build Day projects can be found at www.fsround.org.

The Financial Services Roundtable represents 100 of the largest integrated financial services companies providing banking, insurance, and investment products and services to the American consumer. Member companies participate through the Chief Executive Officer and other senior executives nominated by the CEO. Roundtable member companies provide fuel for America's economic engine, accounting directly for $65.8 trillion in managed assets, $1 trillion in revenue, and 2.4 million jobs.